The reference to Jeannie Gunn reminded me of a very fine song by a good mate of mine, Bob Sharp, who lived for many years in the NT but now lives in Tasmania.

BOSS LADY
(Bob Sharp)

She came to the outback unwanted, unseen
By the men who lived their lives hard
They could not foresee what life there could be
For a lady from Melbourne’s backyard
But bold Jeannie Gunn would prove it to them
She was as strong in the heart as the rest
It did not take long before she proved them all wrong
And they found a new type of respect

She was the lady of old Elsie Station, arrived from the city in 1902
They called her Boss Lady respected her greatly
For all the things that she went through

Heard many stories of men and their travels
And how they developed new lands
Jeannie she wrote of a woman's view
In a man’s world of hot fiery sands
Their lives were hard in a far different way
Their reasons for being there too
They would follow their men to the ends of the earth
To make far distant dreams come true

Chorus

Time has moved on and the old homestead's gone
White ants have left their mark here
Road markers stand where the station once stood
Now only the hot springs run clear
The legends live on of bold Jeannie Gunn
Her stories of good times and bad
And what it would be for a lady like thee
To experience the times that you had

Chorus

Bob recorded it on album that he made with Ken Ferguson 'The Windmill Run' - the duo called themselves 'Facial Expressions'. You can find info here:

Bob Sharp

Phil Beck and I included the song in a themed concert entitled 'Images of Strong Women'. Phil's introduction to the song:

Jeannie Gunn (nee Taylor), ‘The Little Missus’, was born on 5 June 1870. Her father was a Presbyterian minister. In the 1890s she met Aeneas James Gunn, son of Rev. Peter Gunn. Gunn had spent most of the 1890s in northern Australia and helped to establish sheep and cattle stations. Aeneas and Jeannie married in December 1901. Just before his marriage Aeneas had agreed to manage the Elsey cattle station on the Roper River, about 300 miles south of Darwin, so on 2 January 1902 the couple sailed for Port Darwin.

In Darwin Jeannie was told that as a woman she would be 'out of place' on a station such as the Elsey. The Territory had always been considered a man's world and news of her arrival in Darwin caused an alarm amongst the tough stockmen of the Elsey who attempted to stop this female invasion by forwarding telegraph messages to prevent her coming. This wasn't enough to discourage Jeannie, all five feet of her had always had a determined streak. The Elsey was in a remote part of the NT known locally as the ‘Never-Never’: in fact later on in life Jeannie wrote ‘We of the Never Never’ based on her time there. The homestead when she arrived was a run down, comfortless bush dwelling which Jeannie set about trying to transform into a home.

The stockmen were not easily won over. They were men who’d withdrawn from civilisation and were intolerant of anything that wasn't an accepted part of their lifestyle, which included intrusions from women. Jeannie's friendliness and humour as well as her personal courage and refusal to complain showed these bushmen that she would, like them, accept and make the best of conditions. It was this attitude along with her determination that in the end earned their respect and admiration.

--Stewie.